


Forgive Me, Kiss Me, Love Me

by sktrgrl13



Series: The Core of Magic Tetralogy [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Extra Magic that is not Devil Slaying Magic, F/M, Fluff, I'm sorry!, Kidnapping, M/M, Mentions of Rape, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-END, Pre-Silver Fullbuster, Pre-Tartaros Arc (Fairy Tail), Remember this was written in 2013 people, Sacrifice, Team as Family, Triggers, Violence, Wrote this when Gray's Father was still a negative pipe dream, dark themes, maybe? - Freeform, mild swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 15:10:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11315982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sktrgrl13/pseuds/sktrgrl13
Summary: Sequel to Save Me, Help Me, Free Me - Guilt, New Beginnings and New Enemies collide as Gray's life hangs by a thread... Revenge and Love are destined to clash in one final battle, but will Natsu and Gray be strong enough to survive? Or will they be torn apart for the rest of eternity? boyxboy





	1. Forgive Me

**Author's Note:**

> And on to Part 2 of the Tetralogy! I hope everyone is enjoying this dinosaur of a story still!  
> ONWARDS MINNA! 
> 
> Mashima still owns Fairy Tail -- I own the OCs...:P

The pure white walls pressed down upon him like a suffocating blanket, slowly sucking away every ounce of hope and energy he once had. The infuriating beeping engulfed the room and echoed throughout his head as a constant reminder that the one he loves may never wake up. He watched the sluggish rise of his chest as he struggled to stay alive. His face was excruciatingly pale, matching the snow he loved so much and his raven hair hung loosely in his closed deep blue eyes. Hesitantly, the pink haired dragon slayer reached out his hand and gently ran his hand over his love’s cold, alabaster cheek. Natsu tried to hold back his tears as the overwhelming guilt and fear threatened to resurface as it has been doing since Gray had almost left him forever. According to Wendy, if Natsu hadn’t done what he did, Gray wouldn’t have been lying in the infirmary; he would be lying six feet under. What troubled the dragon slayer was he could barely remember what he had done after Gray had closed his eyes.

Natsu let his hand trail down from the ice mage’s pale face and down his neck until his hand rested on the bandaged scar that will forever mar his throat, collar bone and shoulder. His hand trembled as the tears broke through his emotional barrier and slid down his face. It wouldn’t be as bad if the bastard was at fault for the scarring, but, Natsu was just as much at fault as him…

_“Natsu, you freed me from my darkness, **you** freed me because,” Gray coughed and blood trickled out of his mouth, “I… love you. I love you so much and I’m sorry that I’m only telling you know when I’m about to leave you.”_

_“N-No…” Natsu clutched the hand on his cheek, “You’re not leaving, you can’t leave! I love you too!”_

_“T-Thank you for unf-freeing my f-frozen heart my dear Natsu…”_

_“GRAY!”_

_Simply responding to his emotions, his flames immediately roared to life. A wall of fire encased the two mages as Gray’s deep blue eyes slid closed for the last time. Natsu’s body trembled as if an earthquake was shaking his entire body. He could hear people calling out to him, but his mind couldn’t or refused to acknowledge the voices. Natsu was just entranced by grief and the sluggish rise and fall of his lover’s chest. The blood continued to flow across Natsu’s hands as Gray’s pulse continued to get slower and slower._

_The flames pressed against their bodies and for once Natsu could actually feel how hot his flames were for others; he felt like his own skin was going to be singed right off his bones. If he, as a fire mage, was having difficulty standing the flame, then Gray may not stand a chance. He tried to urge the flames back, but they refused to respond to his grief stricken mind. The flames continued to relentlessly press against them and out of instinct Natsu gently pulled Gray against him in order to keep the flames at bay. The dragon instincts within Natsu were beginning to overwhelm his human ones and if that happened all hell would break loose._

**_Natsu Dragneel! You can save him!_ **

_His head whipped up and glanced into the flames that surrounded them. No shadows could be seen, but he was sure that he heard a voice speaking to him through the flames._

**_Natsu Dragneel! You must seal his wound using your flames it’s the only way to ensure his survival!_ **

**_I can’t do that!_ ** _Natsu argued, **My flames would kill him!**_

**_Believe in your magic young dragon slayer; you’ll without a doubt save his life, not end it. Let your love for him fill you up and feed your power. Your love for him saved him once Natsu Dragneel and your love will save him again._ **

_The pink haired dragon slayer closed his eyes and held onto Gray tightly. He willed his flames to obey him; he willed his flames to heal instead of destroy, he willed his flames to save the one he loved. He refused to lose anyone else who was important to him!_

_His flames instantaneously responded to him and they licked Gray’s neck hungrily. The ice mage’s body subconsciously flinched at the intense heat causing Natsu to whisper a string of apologies into the ice mage’s ear. At his words Gray’s body relaxed slightly, although his face was still contorted painfully. After a few moments the flames started to retreat of their own accord; slowly making their way back towards Natsu’s body. As his flames returned to him a wave of exhaustion swallowed him causing his vision to waver unwillingly. Natsu heard the sound of running footsteps coming towards them and he instinctively held Gray closer. In doing so, Natsu noticed the blistering, raw skin that decorated the ice mage’s usually flawless pale skin. Tears welled up in his half lidded eyes as he realized the damage and pain he had inflicted on him._

**_I’m sorry…_ ** _he whispered sadly, before darkness consumed him._

Natsu continued to run his hand through Gray’s raven hair soothingly; distracting himself from thinking about what he had done.

“Gray…” He whispered as a tear slid down his burning cheek.

“C’mon ice block,” His voice whispered brokenly, “I know you can pull through this.”

The dragon slayer leaned forward and hesitantly pressed his lips on Gray’s smooth forehead,

“I love you Gray, please come back to me.”

He laid his head beside the ice mage’s hand and held onto the only lifeline he felt that he had before allowing much needed sleep to drag him under.

FTFTFTFTFTFT

The grassy field was full of life as the blissful wind danced through each blade of grass and every blooming flower. The sun beat comfortingly on his bare back without draining every ounce of energy that he had. The sound of bird song carried down towards him, reminding him of something from his memory. He laid back in the soft field and let the grass tickle his back and sooth the pain that lingered on his neck, collar bone and shoulder. He couldn’t remember what he did to have this pain, but it was damn annoying.

_Gray…_

He sat up and searched around him frantically. The voice sounded so familiar and the word it said, ‘Gray’, was it important to him in some way?

 _C’mon ice block,_ the voice cracked, _I know you can pull through this._

There it was again. Why did that voice sound so familiar? It was beginning to get under his skin and fast.

“Hello?!” He called out, “Is anyone there?!”

No one answered him; all was silent. The birds had stopped singing and the wind had completely stopped. The heat of the sun seemed to have strengthened dramatically, but it still wasn’t scorching his skin and sucking away his energy. The heat felt comforting; almost like a second presence that was only there to keep him safe. Almost like Na…

A sharp pain shot through his head as the image of a pink haired teen flashed across his mind’s eye. The images didn’t stop there either; people he couldn’t name flashed like pictures through his head. A bubbly, slightly over dramatic blonde girl, a blue winged cat and a terrifying red haired, armoured girl joined that of the pink haired boy. His heart warmed at the thought of them; they felt like family… they felt safe. Other people he couldn’t remember the names of flashed through his mind until the familiar voice echoed throughout the field once more,

_I love you Gray, please come back to me._

“N-Natsu?” Gray whispered hesitantly.

Pain laced through his body as his memories returned; it was almost completely unbearable. He almost wished that he could forget all over again; but the want to feel safe with Natsu and his family overrode that wish almost immediately. He closed his eyes and thought of Natsu, he wanted to return to him; he wanted to comfort Natsu like he had comforted him.

Suddenly his body felt like lead and his eyelids were extremely heavy. Gathering every ounce of his will Gray forced his eyes to open only to be greeted with a blinding fluorescent light. He gazed around him as best as he could, but he instantly felt extremely exhausted. He could feel a hand wrapped tightly around his and smiled when he saw the shock of pink hair lying by his arm sound asleep.

“N-Natsu?” His voice cracked painfully from under use, “Flame brain wake the hell up before I go back to sleep.”

The pink haired dragon slayer twitched in his sleep and opened his eyes sleepily. Gray couldn’t help but notice the dark rings around the onyx eyes and immediately felt guilty. Natsu seemed a lot thinner and his tanned skin seemed to have lost its glow.

_Did I do this to him?_

Gray sighed sadly and squeezed Natsu’s hand to gain his attention. The dragon slayer jumped and a look of disbelief and relief swallowed his face. He looked at Gray’s hand and up the pale arm to finally rest on Gray’s face and on his exhausted deep blue eyes.

“G-Gray?!”

“Morning flame bastard,” Gray smirked, “You should really take care of yourself better.”

FTFTFTFTFTFT

Natsu’s heart was pounding in his chest and his mouth hung open in complete surprise. He couldn’t help but keep staring at the now awakened ice mage. His hand held onto Gray’s tightly out of fear that he would disappear into the darkness of sleep once again if he were to let go. Without his permission, tears rolled down his cheeks as the relief and guilt clashed against each other. A smooth thumb rubbed the tears of his cheeks as they fell and he instinctively leaned into the cool and comforting touch. With his free hand, the dragon slayer wrapped his fingers around Gray’s other hand and held it against his cheek.

“G-Gray…”

“Shhh,” Gray smiled exhaustedly, “I’m okay and you’re okay; everyone is okay.”

“I-I’m so sorry Gray,” Natsu sobbed, “It’s my fault.”

Gray raised his dark eyebrow in confusion and then finally noticed his bandaged shoulder. He tried to think back to that night, but after he passed out he couldn’t remember anything except an intense heat. His eyes softened in realization; the heat was Natsu’s fire magic and if he was feeling guilty, than his flames must have burned him. He carefully put his weight on his forearms and tried to push himself into a sitting position. Natsu protested against his movements, but Gray ignored him and continued despite the intense pain that shot through his neck, collarbone and shoulder. When he finally got himself into the sitting position he closed his eyes and sighed in physical and emotional exhaustion.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Natsu said without meeting the ice mage’s gaze.

Gray rolled his eyes and used his hand to force Natsu to look him in the eye,

“You’re such a dumbass.”

“WHAT?!”

“You heard me just fine Natsu,” Gray caressed his cheek comfortingly, “But if you need me to repeat it I will.”

“But…”

“It’s not your fault.” Gray whispered, “It’s Yakumo’s fault that I’m like this right now, not yours.”

Natsu hesitantly placed his hand on Gray’s bandaged shoulder and stared into his eyes darkly,

“But I did this.”

“And if you didn’t do it, I wouldn’t be alive right now and you know it.”

“And if I was strong enough to protect you, that bastard wouldn’t have gotten to you in the first place!”

“Forgive me.” Gray whispered.

Natsu stared at the ice mage with his mouth slightly agape,

“Why would I have to forgive you?!”

“If I stayed put and not attacked Yakumo, I would not have exhausted myself and caused you all this pain.”

Natsu stared at his love with complete confusion. In his opinion, Gray had nothing to apologize for and he was crazy if he thought he had to. The pink hair teen watched the raven-haired uncertainly to see what the ice mage was getting at. After a few moments, a light bulb went off in Natsu’s head and he couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his lips,

“You’re one crafty ice bastard you know that right?”

Gray smirked and ran his thumb along Natsu’s cheekbone,

“I know, but I had to fix you somehow.”

Natsu leaned over and placed his lips on Gray’s forehead. Gray leaned into the kiss and his eyes closed his exhaustedly as the need for sleep surfaced. Natsu noticed his eyes closing and started to move away to let the ice mage rest. He turned to leave the infirmary and inform the other guild members that he was awake when Gray’s small hand latched onto the back of his black vest. He looked back at the ice mage and smiled at the pout that appeared on Gray’s face.

“Please stay.” He whispered as he moved to the side in attempt to make room for the dragon slayer on the bed, “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Natsu ran his hand through Gray’s raven locks and nodded. He carefully crawled into the bed, being aware of the wires connecting Gray to the heart monitor and pulled him close to his side. The ice mage propped his injured side across Natsu’s chest and nuzzled his head into the crook of Natsu’s warm neck.

“I love you Natsu,” He whispered against Natsu’s neck, “And I’m sorry for almost leaving you.”

“And I love you,” Natsu ran his hand soothingly through the ice mage’s hair, “There’s no need to apologize, you came back.”

TBC


	2. Kiss Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Fluff and more Angst...what a lovely combo!!   
> I hope you enjoy regardless!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mashima still owns FT!

The snow fell from the grey sky as if it was participating in a complex and magical dance. The world was blanketed in white, creating an image so beautiful that anyone would want to capture it. The residents of Magnolia were all bundled in warm clothing so they could protect their sensitive skin from the harsh cold that the winters normally brought to their calm town. People were selling warm apple cider, peppermint hot chocolate and other warm beverages in the street to celebrate the holidays that were fast approaching. Among the bundled residents stood two teens walking hand in hand down the crowded town streets. What stood out about them was the fact that they both lacked warm clothes, but the people of Magnolia weren’t that shocked; after all, these two teens were well known around the town.

The two teens were known as some of the strongest mages of the renowned guild Fairy Tail; their names were Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. The townspeople weren’t too surprised to see Gray without his shirt; it was a common occurrence for the ice mage to lose his clothing even in sub-zero weather. As for Natsu, he was a fire mage so that’s pretty much says everything right there. All the people of Magnolia could hope for was that the two mages wouldn’t destroy the town again, after all they finally just got the repairs done a month ago, but the townspeople had a feeling that everything they knew was going to change. The first thing they noticed was that the two teens hadn’t fought since the accident at the Autumn Festival when Gray had been fatally injured; apparently it was so bad that Natsu nearly burnt down the entire festival.

Ever since Gray had recovered, the two teens had been closer than ever and they rarely argued anymore. There battles could still be heard from the guild hall around the block, but it hadn’t made it out onto the street in a long time and for that they were grateful.

FTFTFTFTFT

Gray squeezed Natsu’s warm hand tightly as they walked towards the guild. His heart was beating in his chest at just the thought of him just holding Natsu’s hand. He never believed that this day would come and he was happy that it did; although it would’ve been ten times better without Yakumo and Gray almost dying in the mix. The raven-haired teen glanced up at his boyfriend’s happy face and couldn’t help but wonder when Natsu had grown to be even taller than him now; he was just too used to Natsu being a shrimp, but now he was the shrimp; it kind of depressed him. Gray must have been frowning or something because the pink haired dragon slayer was looking down at him, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Are you okay?” He asked, “Your shoulder bothering you?”

Absent mindedly, Gray lifted his hand and placed it on his shoulder feeling the calloused and rough skin under his hand. The ice mage smiled reassuringly at the dragon slayer and forced him to stop walking. He let go of his shoulder and latched onto Natsu’s infamous white muffler and pulled him down so that they were face to face. Gray flicked the pink haired teen’s forehead playfully,

“I’m fine fire breath, stop worrying or you’ll get wrinkles.”

“Hey,” Natsu crossed his arms, “It’s not my fault you were frowning like that ice block.”

Gray laughed,

“It kind of was; I was just thinking about when you got so tall.”

The dragon slayer raised his eyebrow and looked at his boyfriend. He raised his hand and placed it over Gray’s raven coloured hair and then brought his hand over his own pink hair. Suddenly, Natsu started laughing,

“Huh, I never noticed that before. I guess you’re the shrimp now, eh ice for brains?”

The ice mage’s eyebrow twitched angrily and he brought his fist down on his idiotic boyfriend’s head. The fire mage hissed and massaged the now forming lump rhythmically in an attempt to stop the pain from growing.

“Clearly your newfound height doesn’t stop me from kicking your ass, eh pinky?”

Natsu growled and glared at his smaller boyfriend,

“You wanna go popsicle?!”

“Anytime and anywhere ash brain!”

Everyone on the street had stopped and stared at the two mages, only to start packing up their stands and get as far away from the explosion and avalanche as fast as possible. The magical aura was practically pulsating around the two lovers dangerously as they got into their stances,

“Ice Make…”

“Fire Dragon…”

“WHAT DO YOU TWO IDIOTS THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

Both the mages immediately stopped what they were doing and froze in place. Sweat began to pour down their foreheads and their eyes twitched comically as the sound of clanking footsteps echoed around the now tense air. Subconsciously, Gray reached for Natsu’s hand and moved closer to him; in doing so he purposefully made Natsu into a human shield and without the other’s knowledge no less. Their legs were shaking as the ‘demon’ Queen of the Fairies walked towards them menacingly.

“N-Nothing Erza,” Gray stuttered with a forced smile, “We were just goofing around right Natsu?”

“A-Aye!” The dragon slayer laughed nervously.

Behind Erza, the blonde haired and bubbly celestial mage, Lucy, face palmed and shook her head back and forth in disbelief. Normal people would’ve thought that the two idiots would have learned a thing or two by now, but as usual, she was sorely mistaken.

“Oh really?” Erza growled, “Then what did I just see?”

“Haha, a lover’s spat?” Gray laughed shakily.

“A-Aye!”

The dark aura pulsed around the red-haired requip mage dangerously,

“And you were going to do it in the middle of town?!”

“N-No!” Gray raised his hands as if he were a criminal, “W-We were just trying to get all fired up that’s all!”

“A-Aye!”

Lucy couldn’t stop herself from sweat-dropping; she couldn’t make herself understand why Natsu always became another Happy when Erza was ready to whoop their ass. In her opinion, it would only want to make her hit them that much harder.

“Well if that’s the case, then I guess I can let this one time slide,” Erza backed off a bit, “Besides, we have something of great importance to tell the both of you.”

Natsu immediately returned to normal and looked around Erza until his eyes fell on Lucy,

“Oh Lucy, You’re here too! Sorry, I didn’t even see you there!”

“Of course you didn’t,” She mumbled, “You were too busy pissing your pants.”

Natsu opened his mouth the retort, but Gray held him back and silenced him with a look. Both Erza and Lucy’s mouths dropped open in complete and utter disbelief; they never expected Natsu to be this whipped.

“So,” Gray broke them out of their daze, “What did you have to tell us?”

The two lovers noticed as Titania’s lips thinned and an even darker aura started pulsing around her. Out of habit both the ice and fire mage took a step back so they could put some distance in between them. Erza tried looking the two mages in the eye, but she couldn’t get herself to; the news she was about to give them was going to ruin the peace that the two of them deserve, but she knew that their safety was more important.

Gray couldn’t help, but fidget as he waited anxiously for the S-Class Mage to tell them what was going on. He could feel deep in his gut that what she was going to say was going to make the perfect world he had created explode right before his eyes. By watching Natsu, the younger ice mage could tell that the dragon slayer was feeling the exact same way. Not only could he read the pink haired teen’s facial expressions, but his magical power was coming off him in waves; Gray was sure that he was able to sense the dragon instincts awakening in Natsu every second that passed.

“Erza,” The dragon slayer growled, “What’s wrong?”

Erza sighed sadly and looked deeply into Natsu’s onyx eyes,

“The Magic Council contacted Master Makarov a few hours ago with incomprehensible news; Rahul Shadowsky has escaped prison and has yet to be found. According to outside sources he was spotted near Akane and he is headed to Magnolia.”

All the colour drained from Gray alabaster cheeks as he felt the world spin around him. His breath was coming out in pants and he was having difficulty finding the space in his lungs for the new oxygen that was trying to come in.

“Gray,” Natsu’s voice sounded faint, “You need to breathe!”

“H-He’s coming here?!” The ice mage’s legs started to shake, “Why’s he coming here?!”

Erza seemed to hesitate and Gray exploded,

“WHY’S HE COMING HERE?!”

The snow that was once falling gracefully to ground had suddenly been whipped into an uncontrollable frenzy. The cold winter air dropped another ten degrees making the weather almost unbearable to those who were not an ice or fire mage. The clouds that masquerade the sky had darkened dangerously and the harsh winter wind was like knives on everyone’s skin; the only time anyone had felt anything like this was last year when Gray had tried to use iced shell.

With goose bumps covering even his arms, Natsu turned to his distraught boyfriend and placed his calloused hands on Gray’s tear streaked face,

“Calm down,” He whispered soothingly, “You’re going to be okay; I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

The snow whipped around the four mages even faster and the air became even colder still. Gray’s usually soulful deep blue eyes seemed lifeless and terrified beyond belief. Natsu knew that if the ice mage didn’t stop, he might use up his magic and that was something that could not happen.

“He’s going to kill you,” The raven haired teen murmured, “He’s going to try and kill all of you and it’s all my fault!”

“Shh,” Natsu ran his thumbs over Gray’s salty tears, “You don’t know that love; everything is going to be alright. Nothing is going to happen to us and nothing is going to happen to you.”

More tears spilled down the ice mage’s already soaked cheeks and he fisted his hands in Natsu’s muffler and pulled him closer so that he could drown himself in the comforting scent of the dragon slayer that he loved,

“I can’t lose you,” He sobbed, “I can’t lose any of you; I don’t want to be alone…”

The dragon slayer pressed his forehead against the ice mage’s and kissed the tip of his nose,

“You’ll never be alone; we’ll make sure of that.”

Gray nodded as exhaustion quickly consumed him. He melted into the heat of his dragon slayer as his legs gave out from under him. He felt Natsu lock him against his chest as if his arms were a cage as he welcomed the embrace of the soothing darkness.

FTFTFTFTFT

Slowly, but surely, the spontaneous emotion-filled blizzard dissipated when Gray had slipped into unconsciousness. With a furrowed brow, Natsu scooped the exhausted ice mage into his arms and held him close to his chest; even in unconsciousness, Gray snuggled deeper into Natsu’s grip with his hand clenched around his white muffler.

“Is he going to be okay?” Lucy whispered with teary eyes, “I’ve never seen magic influence the weather like that before.”

The dragon slayer nodded stiffly,

“He’ll be fine; he’s just tired.”

“I’m sorry Natsu,” Erza uncharacteristically avoided his gaze, “I didn’t know he would react like that.”

“Me either. I just thought he would be a little freaked out; I was not expecting him to control the weather.” The pink haired teen assured her, “We should get him home so he can rest. The last thing we need is for the guild hall to coddle him; that would just make him even more upset.”

The red haired mage nodded in agreement and they turned away from the guild hall and started to back track to the ice mage’s house. The walk was silent; they were worried about their ice mage for many different reasons, one of them being his mental state. Natsu was the only one who had seen Gray in a similar state and even he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to help the ice mage and that is what terrified him the most. After what felt like hours, the mages had finally found themselves outside of the ice mage’s house. Erza opened the door for Natsu so he could carry Gray upstairs and put him in bed. The two girls followed him in silence and waited outside the door for Natsu to return.

When Natsu left Gray’s room, he silently shut the door behind him and led the girls back downstairs. They retreated into the living room and found them in silence once more. Lucy was sitting on the corner of the couch next to Erza who had her face buried in her hands. Natsu was leaning with his back against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest; his normally cheery exterior had been discarded and a look of solemnity dominated his features. To an outsider, it would seem like they were mourning for a friend who had met an untimely death.

“Other than the sightings,” Natsu broke the deafening silence, “Why does the Magic Council think that Shadowsky is coming here?”

Erza sighed and lifted her face from her hands,

“They found messages and symbols etched into the walls of his prison. They were also a magnitude of equations and information relating to the Core of Magic that Gray seems to possess. The man was obsessed with that power and the reason seems to be much more than to make money.”

Natsu ran his hands threw his hair and sunk down to sit on the floor,

“That Yakumo bastard mentioned that Shadowsky already had magic of his own; does anyone know what kind of magic that is?”

“I believe Master said that it was illusions and shadow magic.” Lucy said as she looked to Erza for conformation.

Erza nodded at the celestial mage’s words,

“Yes, but illusions are his specialty. Natsu, has Gray mentioned anything about the time he spent locked in that building?”

“No,” The dragon slayer shook his head sadly, “He hasn’t said anything about what happened before we saved him, but I know that something happened; he doesn’t sleep well some nights.”

“Has he said anything in his sleep?” Erza asked solemnly.

Natsu tapped his chin thoughtfully and closed his eyes as he searched his memory for all the times that Gray had woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

“I think one time he was talking about Ur, but it wasn’t normal; it was almost as if Ur herself was hurting him.”

Silence lingered once again only for Lucy to break a few minutes later,

“Do you think that this Shadowsky person used his illusions to torture Gray?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” Erza stated sadly, “When strong willed mages like Gray are involved, they have to be broken; what better way for them to break him than use people from his own past.”

“But how would they do that?” Lucy asked, “The accident with Ur, Gray, Lyon and Deliora isn’t commonly known knowledge.”

“They had a file.” Natsu’s eyes widened in remembrance.

“What was that?” Erza asked him.

“In the abandoned house, they had files upon files of different mages that they had captured. The files had everything from their childhood, missions they went on, who they hung out with and whether or not they had sexual relationships.” He explained, “Gray’s file was among those; they had everything from even before his parents were murdered by Deliora.”

“How would they even get information like that?!” Erza shouted, “Gray himself barely remembers what happened before Deliora’s attack.”

Lucy sighed in frustration,

“Maybe they had outside sources?”

Natsu shook his head negatively,

“Gray was the only survivor from his village; Lyon Bastia confirmed it.”

“When did you talk to Lyon?” Erza raised a fine eyebrow, “I thought you two didn’t get along.”

“We don’t.” Natsu’s eyes hardened, “We just happen to care about the same person.”

The celestial and requip mage exchanged knowing looks. It was common knowledge between the Lamia Scale guild and Fairy Tail guild that Lyon was also in love with Gray; once Lyon even challenged Natsu to a battle to see who would get Gray. When Gray found out about this challenge, it became pretty explosive; the Fairy Tail ice mage nearly kicked Lyon’s ass all the way back to Lamia Scale. Not only was it a good show, it made Natsu ecstatic; even if Gray turned on him and kicked his ass too.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Erza reiterated.

Natsu sighed and pushed himself back to his feet before resuming his position on the wall,

“I overheard it on Galuna.”

Lucy opened her mouth to say more when someone’s pounding on the front door cut her off. Natsu visibly tensed and his eyes narrowed dangerously before silently sniffing the air. The two female mages waited silently for the dragon slayer’s okay before they said anything else. After a few tense moments, Natsu relaxed slightly, but his eyes were still narrowed; only this time it was annoyance. He walked to the front door swiftly with Erza and Lucy following quickly behind him. He threw the door open quickly to be met with someone knocking on his forehead. Natsu hissed angrily before grabbing the pale wrist and dragging him into the house. Erza and Lucy’s mouths dropped open simultaneously when the one and only Lyon Bastia stumbled through the door.

The ice mage of Lamia Scale was definitely as handsome as his Fairy Tail counterpart and was now the target of Juvia’s affections since Gray has started dating Natsu; much to Lyon’s dismay. His hair was still gravity defying and as white as ever, while his onyx eyes were narrowed dangerously; however, for once they weren’t directed at Natsu.

“Where’s Gray?” Lyon stared into Natsu’s smoldering onyx eyes, “Is he safe?”

“He’s upstairs resting; he almost burned himself out earlier.” Natsu explained bluntly as Lyon nodded his head in understanding.

“Okay,” Lyon sighed, “We have to get him out Magnolia as fast as possible.”

A low growl erupted from the pink haired teen’s throat causing all three mages to look at him in shock. His eyes were narrowed into slits and his fire magic was spreading throughout the house. Natsu grabbed onto Lyon’s jacket and pulled him forward so that their noses were almost touching,

“What do you know?” He demanded, “What are you hiding from us?!”

“We don’t have time idiot!” Lyon tore himself from Natsu’s grip, ice quickly mixing with the growing heat, “We need to get Gray out of here now!”

To emphasize his point, the sound of shattering glass and a scream of pure terror exploded from upstairs. Moving so fast that no one knew he moved until he was bounding up the stairs, Natsu burst through Gray’s bedroom door and immediately jumped at the figure standing by Gray’s broken window. His fists spontaneously burst into flames before his fist made contact with the intruder’s face sending him flying across the room. In one fluid movement, the dragon slayer jumped from the shattered window and scanned the room searching for his ice mage. Almost like gravity, his onyx eyes instantaneously connected with the dark blue and fearful ones of Gray who was all but curled into a ball in the corner.

Natsu approached the ice mage cautiously and worked at calming his flames down; after all, he didn’t want to scare the poor teen. Apparently, he was moving too slow for Gray’s liking because suddenly, Natsu’s extended arms were engulfed by the ice mage’s trembling body. The dragon slayer ran his hand through Gray’s hair soothingly as he lifted the ice mage into his arms and ran from the bedroom. He could feel Gray whispering ‘I’m sorry’ into his neck over and over again and it nearly broke his heart into a million pieces.

Natsu stopped at the top of the stairs and put Gray on his own two feet. The raven haired teen looked up at him and nearly burst into tears again; even if it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I’m sorry,” He whispered, “I…”

“If you don’t stop apologizing ice block, I swear I’m going to punch you.”

FTFTFTFTFT

The ice mage’s dark blue eyes widened in surprise and he nodded his head slowly. Natsu grasped Gray’s small hand in his own and brought it to his lips before leading him down the stairs at a quick pace.

“It’s not your fault,” Natsu continued, “You’re not weak; you were sound asleep and you basically used up your magic earlier. Stop apologizing for things you don’t need to apologize for; there’s no need for you to carry all this guilt.”

“Natsu…” Gray whispered.

However, he was caught off by an explosion sounding behind them, knocking them off their feet and sending them the rest of the way down the stairs. When the dust cleared, Gray found himself lying on Natsu’s chest with the dragon slayer’s arm draped over him protectively.

“Are you okay?” Natsu asked as he tried to gain back the air that was knocked out of him.

“Y-Yeah,” Gray coughed, “Are you?”

“Never better.” He said sarcastically.

Gray carefully rolled of him so that they would be able to get to their feet. The ice mage’s heart quickened when he heard thunder footsteps coming from the staircase. Gray hastily helped the dragon slayer to his feet and began to lead him away from the staircase only to run face first into Lyon. Before Gray could even question his presence, his fellow pupil latched his hand around his wrist and led them both outside of the building.

Erza and Lucy were waiting outside; their faces mixed with relief and anger. Natsu snaked a protective arm around Gray’s waist and held him close. Gray could feel the dragon’s rumbling growl against his back, but Gray accepted the familiar feeling with no hesitation; he surprised the dragon slayer by leaning even further into his embrace.

“We need to get out of here before the bastard figures out that Natsu and Gray aren’t in there anymore.” Erza said authoritatively.

Lucy nodded in agreement and walked beside her as the five teens turned toward the direction of the guild hall. Lyon was walking ahead with Lucy and Erza, leaving Gray and Natsu to lag a little behind, but still at a fast pace. Gray held onto Natsu’s hand tightly, almost afraid that if he didn’t Natsu would disappear. He glanced at his dragon slayer and wasn’t surprised to see that the calming smile on his face was absent; actually the scales he normally gets on his face arms when he goes all out were still decorating his skin and his canines were still sharp. His onyx eyes were darting around rapidly, searching for any signs of inconsistent movements.

“Natsu?” Gray whispered nervously, “Are you alright?”

The dragon slayer nodded his head stiffly and tightened his hand around Gray’s reassuringly before continuing his sharp search. He didn’t stop searching until they were standing in front of the guild hall. Lyon, Erza and Lucy had already entered the hall, but Natsu was still frozen in place searching; his dragon instincts were in hyper drive. Gray reluctantly pulled his hand out of Natsu’s and placed the dragon slayer’s now free hand over his own beating heart. Natsu immediately stopped searching and look into worried deep blue eyes. The scales on Natsu’s face and forearms slowly disappeared and his sharpened eyes dulled slightly.

“I’m okay.” Gray assured him.

Natsu nodded slightly and smiled in relief before placing his hands on Gray’s cheeks and running his thumbs over his cheekbones soothingly. Gray wrapped his arms around the dragon slayer’s shoulders and brought Natsu’s head closer to his own. Their breaths were mingling between them and Gray shuddered when he felt his dragon slayer’s hot breath on his cold skin.

“Kiss me.” He whispered huskily.

Natsu smiled before leaning down and placing his blazing lips on the naturally frostbitten ones. Their lips massaged against each other and perfect harmony; fireworks and a symphony of music resounded in their heads. Natsu’s tongue ran across Gray’s bottom lip asking for entrance and the ice mage happily obliged. Natsu’s scorching tongue ran along the ice mage’s cold one creating sparks of electricity to course between the two. Gray groaned as he let the fire mage explore his mouth wholeheartedly and shuddered when he felt Natsu nip his lip before pulling away. A small trail of saliva connected the two lovers, but to them that was an unbreakable bond.

The dragon slayer took the ice mage by the hand once more to walk into the guild only to have the ice mage cry out. Natsu snapped his head around to look at the smaller teen before his eyes widened in terror. Inky black tendrils were wrapping themselves around Gray’s legs, somehow submerging the mage into the concrete; it was if the street was trying to swallow him whole.

“NO!”

Gray quickly latched both his arms onto the dragon slayer with a death grip. Natsu was pretty sure he would have bruises later, but if it kept Gray safe then it was alright. Natsu grasped onto his boyfriend just as tightly and started trying to pull him out, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t do it and Gray was already at his waist.

“Lyon! Gajeel! Erza!” Natsu cried out, “Anyone!”

Almost as if they were standing on the other side of the door, Lyon, Gajeel and Erza all poured out of the hall. They hesitated for a moment when they saw the predicament they found Gray and Natsu in before reacting. Gray was already submerged from the collarbone down and they were all panicking. The four mages poured all their strength into pulling Gray out and started to make some progress. He was slowly being pulled out of the concrete as sweat drenched all of them; they all thought they had him when a loud crack resounded through the air.

Natsu’s grip suddenly slackened on Gray’s arms and he began to fall backwards; his white muffler unravelled from his neck and was clutched tightly in the ice mage’s hand. Gray’s eyes widened in fear when he saw the splotches of red decorating the bottom of the treasured item. Gray, Lyon, Gajeel and Erza’s attention immediately snapped to Natsu, who was now lying on his back with blood pooling around his body.

“N-Natsu…” Gray stuttered in agony, “NATSU!”

The three other mages continued to try and save Gray but he ripped his arms out of their grip; grief quickly consuming him as if he was drowning.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Lyon roared as he tried to reach for him.

“Save Natsu,” Gray said lifelessly, “I’ll be fine as long as he’s alive…”

“Gray…” Erza tried.

“He’s almost all I have left!” He interrupted her, “Save him, please!”

Gajeel silently turned from Gray and started towards Natsu,

“Ice boy,” The iron dragon snarled, “We’ll come for you, I promise.”

Gray nodded gratefully at Natsu’s other rival and let the ground suck him into the earth. As the colours of the world above him started to disappear into the darkness he clutched the white muffler to his face and inhaled the scent of his dragon slayer. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he was pulled deeper into the earth and deeper into unconsciousness.

“N-Natsu,” He whispered brokenly, “I’m sorry…”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Love Me Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Angst, the Drama, the itty-bitty bits of OOCness as sprinkled cheese...  
> Oh well, I hope you enjoy this regardless -- sorry to those who have read this before!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mashima still owns FT!

For what seemed like the millionth time in a matter of months, the members of Fairy Tail were thrown into a sense of turmoil and dread. Not only was their resident ice mage stolen right off their doorstep, but their resident fire dragon slayer was now occupying one of the beds in the guild hall infirmary. Master Makarov had retreated into his office immediately after Natsu was brought into the guild hall; his blood decorating the floor like a flawless paint job. The mages of Fairy Tail didn’t know what to do about what was happening; everyone was confused, scared and angry that two of their strongest mages were taken down in one strike.

The guild was eerily silent and each of the members had scowls and thirst for revenge on their minds. They were all happy that Gray was able to find happiness, strength and love in Natsu and vice versa for the dragon slayer. Growing up the two boys were always together and grew into the mages they are today by sparring and trying to one up each other. Not many, maybe except Mira or Erza, would’ve thought that those years of constant brawling would lead to the relationship that the two had today. Maybe if they thought hard enough, they would be able to pick out subtle hints from the young mages; but at the same time, they could be easily confused for friendship. Either way, the members of Fairy Tail couldn’t deny that without Natsu, Gray would still be reclusive and silent like he was when he first came to the guild; no one wanted to return to those days.

The person who felt the most strongly about this entire event was none other than the requip mage Erza Scarlet. The feared “Titania of the Fairies” was pacing back and forth outside the infirmary doors. She couldn’t seem to get what happened a few hours ago out of her mind. Natsu, Lyon, Gajeel and herself were so close to saving Gray, but then it happened. Her heart nearly stopped as she watched Natsu fall in almost slow motion to the ground; his blood pooling around him grotesquely. What broke her heart even further was that Gray all but gave up on his own life as soon as Natsu fell. He disregarded his own being and insisted that the pink haired mage be saved instead of him; that thought process was entirely Gray and she knew it, but at the same time didn’t want to believe it. Lyon looked just as torn up as Erza and that was understandable, but she never expected Gajeel to be the one who listened to Gray’s request.

Despite what the iron dragon slayer says, Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster were one of Gajeel Redfox’s closest friends besides Levy. By looking into his intense red eyes, Erza could tell that the dark haired dragon slayer was torn between Natsu’s wishes and Gray’s words. Gajeel as well as Erza and Lyon knew that Natsu would gladly give his life if it meant his ice mage was safe and sound, but Gray was just as adamant about the subject as Natsu. In the end, Gajeel went along with Gray’s pleas because he knew that Natsu would heal quickly once treated and would be able to track Gray down no problem. Normally, Gajeel would be able to as well since Gray scent was usually so distinct, but as Gray and Natsu’s relationship got stronger, Natsu’s scent was starting to masquerade Gray’s which was bound to happen since the ice mage was the fire dragon slayer’s mate; Natsu’s threatening scent on Gray’s is supposed to keep him safe from enemies according to Metalicana anyway.

Erza sighed in frustration as she continued to pace outside the door. She reached for the doorknob when Gajeel’s hand grabbed it. Her brown eyes narrowed dangerously as she yanked her hand out of his grip. She summoned a sword from thin air and pointed it the iron dragon slayer dangerously,

“Why are you stopping me?!”

Gajeel put his hands up defensively and took a step back from the emotional red haired mage. He heard from the other mages that Gray, Natsu and Erza were childhood friends, which explains why Erza was so protective of the two teens; even if she was beating their skulls in more than half the time. He sighed in an effort to calm himself down so he didn’t snap at the temperamental mage and anger her even more than what was necessary.

“That idiot is going to wake up soon,” Gajeel’s eyes shifted to the door to indicate who he was talking about, “And when he finds out his mate isn’t here, he’s not going to be able to act rationally. He’ll attack anyone he sees because he won’t recognize them as friends; Wendy and I should be the only ones to approach him because he’ll recognize us as dragon slayers which should snap him out of his primitive state.”

“Are you sure about this?” Erza growled.

Gajeel put down his arms and nodded solemnly,

“Finding out that Gray’s gone is going to break his heart Erza; you have no idea what it’s like when someone loses their mate.”

“And you do?”

“I grew up with Metalicana; that was evidence enough.”

Erza’s eyes saddened and she placed her hand on Gajeel’s shoulder comfortingly,

“Alright, I understand.”

The two mages turned away from the infirmary so they could head back downstairs so they could wait with the rest of the guild members. They were about to descend the stairs when the door to the infirmary exploded; intense flames licked the sides of the doorframe and a well-known figure stood in the flames. His torso was heavily bandaged with some blood seeping through, but despite that, he was standing tall. Angry flames flickered in his onyx eyes as scales spread along his tanned cheekbones, forearms and legs while his canines were sharpened to a fine point.

“WHERE IS HE?!” He roared as an intense heat engulfed the guild.

 “Shit…” Erza’s voice trailed off.

Gajeel urged her to head down the stairs and let his eyes flicker to Wendy who even from a distance could figure out what Gajeel wanted. Wendy ran up the stairs to stand next to Gajeel and in front of Erza protectively.

“I didn’t even feel him wake up.” The blue haired young mage whispered.

“I know,” Gajeel whispered back, “I knew it was going to be soon, but not this soon.”

Erza moved forward so she was standing next to the iron dragon slayer,

“Do you think he heard us in the hall?”

Gajeel thought about it for a moment and nodded slightly,

“I wouldn’t be surprised. We need to clear out the guild just in case we can’t talk him down, do you think you can handle that?”

Erza nodded and without a word jumped down to the main floor of the guild hall. The other members of the guild were frozen in shock and fear; the stared blankly at the fire dragon slayer and were scared that losing Gray this time had made him crack.

“Everyone out now!” Erza commanded, “Gajeel and Wendy will handle this!”

“Are you sure Erza?” Wakaba asked fearfully, “I’ve never seen Natsu like this.”

“It’s a dragon slayer thing,” Erza explained, “Let them handle it.”

The mages nodded and started to exit the guild quickly; Erza face palmed, they were like stampeding cattle.

“Erza?”

The armoured mage turned and found herself staring into worried brown eyes. Her gaze softened slightly and pulled the blonde haired mage into a hug,

“He’s going to be fine Lucy; he’s just going by instinct right now.”

“I know,” Lucy nodded, “Do you want Juvia and I on standby just in case Natsu burns down part of the guild hall… again.”

Erza smiled and chuckled,

“Yeah, that would be great.”

FTFTFTFTFT

Back on the second floor, Gajeel and Wendy were staring down the infuriated Natsu who had yet to notice their presence. The iron dragon slayer stepped forward which caused the floorboards to crack under his weight. Natsu’s head snapped up and turned toward the two dragon slayers. The flames around the pink haired teen receded enough for the other two to approach him.

“Where is he?” Natsu growled.

“We don’t know yet,” Gajeel explained, “We had to wait for you to wake up.”

“I don’t understand!” Natsu roared, “We were saving him and we almost had him, but now… he’s gone!”

“You were shot by a magic bullet Natsu-kun,” Wendy explained, “The properties of the bullet allowed it to shock your system and stop your regenerative abilities from starting right away; you almost died.”

Natsu blinked a few times and then turned his furious gaze back to Gajeel,

“And you just let him go and saved me instead!”

Gajeel grabbed onto Natsu’s shoulders tightly and stared him in the eye,

“We tried to save him, but he wouldn’t let us you idiot! I know how this shit works Natsu, but if we saved him and you died, what do you think Gray would’ve done?!”

At that sentence the flames surrounding Natsu instantaneously died; but his dragon attributes still remained. A tear fell down Natsu’s cheek, but evaporated on contact with the skin since it was still hot from the fire magic.

“Lyon-sama told everyone about what happened to Gray-kun when he was younger and about what happened on Galuna Island,” Wendy said quietly as she pulled Natsu into a hug, “I-If Gray-kun were to lose you too Natsu-kun, there wouldn’t be a Gray-kun left; we didn’t want to risk losing both of you!”

“The ice bastard has no right to talk about Gray’s past like that,” Natsu growled as he patted Wendy’s back comfortingly, “Besides that, you guys do have a point.”

Wendy stepped out of the pink haired teen’s arms and both the dragon slayers relaxed as the scales disappeared and the canine teeth returned to normal. Natsu smiled sadly and descended down the stair to the main floor of the guild hall with the Gajeel and Wendy following him silently. They both prayed that Gray would be alright when they found him or else they would end up losing two family members despite their efforts.

FTFTFTFTFT

Darkness pressed on his vision even as he opened his eyes. He was happy that he wasn’t chained to the floor like last time, but it wasn’t enough to make him comfortable. His heart was throbbing painfully as the memory of his boyfriend’s bloody body flooded his mind. Luckily, no one thought it worthy to take Natsu’s muffler away from him. Gray clutched the fabric to his face and breathed in the scent of the one he loved; just the scent alone was enough to instill courage into the terrified boy. He didn’t know where he was, but he did know that he was in a cell somewhere.

Absent-mindedly, Gray ran his cold hands over the pinkish scar that marred his throat, collarbone and shoulder. Natsu hated the scar with a passion because of the memories it brought, but Gray couldn’t help but love it a little. To him, it reminded him that Natsu would always be there by his side ready to save him; even if Gray didn’t always want him too. The raven haired mage gingerly wrapped the muffler around his neck and buried his face in the fabric comfortingly; now he knew why his dragon slayer loved it so much.

The ice mage was pulled away from his musings by the sound of footsteps approaching his cell. Instinctively, he pushed himself closer to the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest in defense; he didn’t like this new fearful side of himself, but he did not want to suffer this man’s illusions. The illusions were almost as bad as the beatings he received from them; he never wanted to experience them again. The sound of a door opening reached his ears and his heart beat raced and his breathing escalated slightly. A small inkling of light poured into his cell and his eyes immediately found his captor. The man’s black hair had a strange purple tint to it as it fell in waves down his back. His hair was in a low ponytail with his bangs barely covering his narrow and malicious deep blue eyes. The man’s skin was the tone of flawless alabaster and his high cheekbones portrayed someone of dominance and power. The man was taller than Gray by six inches and he was clothed in noble looking robes. The only flaws on the man were that he had burns on the side of his face and he moved with a slight limp.

What concerned Gray, like the previous time he met him, was that other than being the bastard who tortured him over and over again, he was familiar. It felt like he had met Rahul Shadowsky before and it unnerved him because he couldn’t remember where he saw him. It was nagging him in the back of his mind and he was pretty sure he could feel it on the tip of his tongue, but it wouldn’t come to him.

“Gray Fullbuster,” Shadowsky smirked, “the bearer of the Core of Magic; I’m not going to deny it, I was surprised when I found out it was you. It was like the gods brought us back together for a reason.”

Gray pushed himself to his feet and glared at the man before him darkly,

“What do you mean brought us back together?”

Shadowsky cackled and walked up to Gray so their faces were only inches apart,

“You’re telling me that you don’t remember me? I know I have an ugly scar now, but I thought you’d at least remember the man who protected you from Deliora’s attack.”

Gray’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he searched the man’s deep blue eyes. He tried to imagine the man without the scar, but all he could do was remember the hell that Shadowsky put him through over a year ago.

“I don’t remember anything before Deliora.” He growled out, “So I have no reason to believe you.”

Shadowsky backed away from the mage and glowered down at him,

“Oh c’mon Gray, I know my last name changed, but I do have a memorable face. If you don’t remember maybe I should remind you.”

Shadowsky backed Gray into the wall so that they were standing nose to nose. The ice mage shivered as the man’s breath ghosted across his cool skin and his breathing hitched as panic consumed him. He flinched when Shadowsky’s palm massaged his inner thigh and traveled all the way up his chest and gripped his chin tightly. Shadowsky smirked as he yanked Gray’s face towards his and consumed his lips. Gray immediately brought his hands together and an ice wall sprung up between the two effectively separating them.

“Oh Gray,” Shadowsky smirked, “Is that any way to treat your father?”

The colour drained from his face and his legs gave out from under him. Gray stared at him wide eyed and shook his head back and forth in denial,

“Y-You’re lying!” He screamed, “My parents both died!”

“No Gray, I’m very much alive,” Shadowsky smiled, “And I was the one who made sure you survived. You were very important to me Gray; I had to find some way of having fun when your mother became ill.”

That’s when Gray remembered. He remembered the pain, the blood, the tears, the screams and the loneliness; they all clashed in his head like a cacophony of noise disorientating him. He could almost imagine his six year old self hiding under his bed in his old village, waiting for the sounds of his father’s footsteps to disappear so that he wouldn’t hurt anymore. All he wanted to do was play with his friends, but he couldn’t do that; even at the young age of six he knew that he was different. He used to watch other kids his age playing with their fathers and going to the different festivals when all his father did was use him, no, violate him day after day and night after night; all he ever wanted was to be free.

“I-I don’t understand!” Gray covered his ears, “Before, when you captured me the first time, you said it was ‘cause I was a virgin mage; but… but… you took that away from me when I was six! I don’t understand!”

“When the core of magic activated in you it purified you,” Shadowsky smirked again, “But then Yakumo solved that problem last year didn’t he. When I learned that, I was very angry with him, but I got over it when I remembered the properties of the core of magic.”

Gray closed his eyes and tried to drown Shadowsky out, but no matter what he did the man’s voice kept penetrating his defenses.

“You can control any elemental magic you want Gray and you don’t even realize it. You can be stronger than even Zeref himself; you could dominate the world and no one would be able to stop you.” Shadowsky laughed darkly, “The Magic Council has been in power too long; it’s time they learn that they aren’t invincible and you’re the one who can show them.”

“SHUT UP!” Gray cried, “SHUT UP! I’m not going to help you! I refuse to help a bastard like you! YOU. CAN’T. CONTROL. ME.”

At that moment, a beam of intense power exploded out of Gray and shot through the rocky roof of his prison. The small room was engulfed with every element imaginable; the power was so strong that the environment was slowly starting to change around them. Grass had sprouted where rocks once were and the cold underground temperature had changed into that of soothing heat. It was raining and snowing from the ceiling while light engulfed the dark prison. Precious metal sprouted from the walls and a soothing wind whipped around Gray like a protective barrier.

The last thing the ice mage heard before he lost consciousness was the sound of Shadowsky’s maniacal laughter and his taunting words…

_It’s time for us to go back to the beginning…_

FTFTFTFTFT

Natsu paced around the once again packed guild hall anxiously. He could feel everyone’s worried eyes on him, but he completely ignored them. He was too busy trying to stop his dragon instincts from running rampant. He had already gone out searching for Gray a couple times, but no matter what he did he could not find Gray’s scent anywhere and it was scaring him beyond belief.

“Natsu if you don’t stop pacing you’re going to make a hole in the middle of the guild hall.” Lucy whispered soothingly in an attempt to distract the dragon slayer for a moment.

“I know that,” He growled, “But I’m too anxious to sit still.”

“And that’s understandable,” Lucy tried again, “But you’re scaring everyone.”

“Fine.”

The dragon slayer sat down at the table and tried to calm himself down, but to no avail. Within moments, he was back on his feet again and pacing. He closed his onyx eyes and tried to pinpoint Gray again. Igneel told him that dragons were able to find their mates through a telepathic link that they were supposed to have, but at the same time, Natsu wasn’t sure if he had one with Gray. In all sense and purposes, Gray was Natsu’s mate, but in order for the link to be made they would’ve had to have sex and they haven’t yet. The topic has never come up between the two of them, but he knew that Gray wouldn’t be ready for something like that for a while; the scars he carries still follow him and Natsu wasn’t going to be the one to reopen them, he just loved the ice mage too much to force something like that on him. Even though it was unlikely they had a link, he wanted to at least try so he could know if his mage was alright.

The sounds of the guild hall disappeared around him and felt himself in total solitude. He knew that he was somewhere, but he didn’t know where; Igneel would probably have called it his inner world. He never expected his inner world to be so dark and gloomy; he never expected it to be so lonely. Actually, his inner world seemed cold and desolate, almost like there was nothing to live for. Without Gray, he did feel this way, but something didn’t seem right. His inner world shouldn’t be cold; a residue of heat should still be there, shouldn’t it?

Natsu searched around the darkness for any sort of light, but he couldn’t find any. He could feel pain and sadness, but this time it wasn’t coming from him. He narrowed his eyes and tried to see through the darkness, only to have his eyes fall on a small boy sitting in the corner of the space. His small legs were pulled up to his chest and his head was buried in his lap. His big eyes were staring into nothing and they were raw from the countless tears that rolled down his cheeks. Natsu approached the small boy cautiously so he wouldn’t startle him and make him run away; maybe this little boy could help him. The dragon slayer sat next to the small boy so that their arms were almost touching; the little boy seemed to notice his presence because he seemed to shift away from his touch. Natsu’s eyes softened and moved so he was crouching in front of the boy instead of sitting beside him. The boy’s dead eyes stared up at him and relaxed slightly,

“W-Who are you?”

Natsu almost fell backwards at the sound of the voice. He knew that small voice almost as much as he knew his own. Only the last time Natsu had heard anything close to this small timid voice was ten years ago and even at that time the voice wasn’t too timid, it was usually yelling at him and swearing like no tomorrow.

“G-Gray?”

“How do you know my name?” Young Gray demanded fearfully, “You’re not going to hurt me too are you?”

Natsu could feel tears prickling at his eyes as he spoke,

“My name is Natsu Dragneel, I’m your friend.”

“N-Natsu?” Young Gray pouted, “I don’t think I met you before, but I think I can trust you.”

“How old are you Gray?” Natsu asked hesitantly.

“Six.”

Natsu closed his eyes thoughtfully. If this Gray was six years old and the Gray he grew up with was eight when they met that meant that this Gray was before the attack of Deliora. Even if that was true, this Gray looks like he has seen just as much pain as the Gray he knew.

“Well when you turn eight, you meet me and we become good friends.” Natsu smiled reassuringly.

“Really?” Gray smiled slightly, “I’ve never had a friend before, and maybe when I’m older daddy finally lets me out of the house.”

“You don’t leave your house?” Natsu raised his eyebrow, “Why not?”

“Daddy says I’m too special to leave and then he would try to make me feel better by playing with me… but…” Tears rolled down his cheeks again, “It hurts.”

Rage began to course through Natsu’s veins and he pulled the smaller Gray into his arms. He rubbed small circles on his back as the small boy sobbed into his shoulder. Natsu’s heart broke at the thought that even as a small child, Gray was deprived of his happiness. It explains a lot about Gray though; even though he couldn’t remember his past before Deliora, Gray was still hesitant about being touched when he was growing up and it was hard for him to make friends.

“Everything is going to be okay Gray,” Natsu whispered, “Everything will work out.”

“I-I know,” Gray hiccupped, “After all, you become my friend; that’s all I could ever ask for.”

Slowly the smothering darkness that swallowed Gray’s inner world began to lift. A bright sun hung high in the sky as snow fell gracefully to the ground blanketing it in pure white snow. Pine trees encircled the two boys and they were decorated with frost creating the most beautiful winter scene he had ever seen. Natsu looked down to the small boy in his arms and saw that he was no longer there. In his place, the eighteen year old Gray was cuddling into his chest and a smile immediately spread across his lips.

“Gray.”

The teen’s eyes slowly opened and deep blue met with onyx; the deep blue eyes filled with tears and he hugged Natsu even tighter. The dragon slayer ran his hands through the ice mage’s raven hair comfortingly.

“N-Natsu,” Gray mumbled, “How are you here?”

“It’s something Igneel told me about,” He explained, “This is all happening in your head, I don’t have time to explain it, but you have to trust me.”

Gray nodded his head against Natsu’s chest so he continued,

“Do you know where you are?”

The younger teen scrunched his eyebrows together so he could try and remember,

“I-I think I’m underground somewhere, but at the same time, when Shadowsky came down to visit me a light poured into the cell I was in. I know that’s not much, but that’s all I have.”

Natsu continued to run his hand through Gray’s hair affectionately,

“It’s okay, we’ll find you.”

“I know you will.” Gray whispered, “But it has to be soon; Shadowsky wants to use the Core of Magic to destroy the Magic Council.”

Natsu froze,

“What?”

“He’s going to use the Core of Magic to destroy the council; apparently I should be able to use all the elemental magic that exists in this world and he wants me to work as his personal foot soldier.”

“But you wouldn’t do that.”

“I know that Natsu,” Gray caressed Natsu’s tanned cheek, “But he knows me better than I know myself; he knows the ones I love and he’d do anything to get what he wants.”

“How?”

A tear trailed down Gray’s cheek again,

“He’s my father.”

_Natsu! Wake up Natsu are you alright?! Answer us!_

The two teens searched around for the voice and they realized it was the voices of the other guild members. Gray held Natsu tightly and the dragon slayer kissed the ice mage’s forehead,

“We’ll find you, I promise.”

“I know you will,” Gray pressed his lips against Natsu’s, “I forgot to tell you, I used the core before I passed out, so maybe there’s residual elemental energy around.”

“But Gray I can’t even smell you in Magnolia,” Natsu whispered, “I’m not sure if you’re there.”

_Fire bastard wake the hell up! We don’t have time for this!_

“Lyon.” Natsu growled.

Gray didn’t seem to hear him; he was too deep in thought. He was able to recall the cold that seemed to linger around him when he was in his cell. It didn’t bother him as much as the last cell it was in; it was almost like his body recognized the temperature. Shadowsky’s voice flitted through his head like a whisper,

“It’s time for us to go back to the beginning…” Suddenly his eyes lit up and he hugged Natsu tighter,

“I know where I am.” Gray whispered.

“What?!”

“Tell Lyon to go to the place where it all began, he’ll know where to take you.”

“Gray…”

“Trust me Natsu.”

Natsu watched his boyfriend silently and then pressed his lips to the ice mage’s one last time. He could feel himself slowly disappearing from Gray’s mindscape and he didn’t want to leave. He rubbed his thumbs over his pale boyfriend’s cheekbones,

“Just hold on a little longer, we’ll be there soon.”

Before Gray could respond Natsu’s mind was drawn from Gray’s mindscape and back into his own. As soon as he entered his own inner world everything went black around him.

FTFTFTFTFT

Onyx eyes feeling like lead, Natsu slowly climbed towards consciousness. The first thing he was met with was a bright light shining in his eyes causing him to flinch. The next thing he registered were the faces of Gramps, Happy, Erza, Lucy, Gajeel, Lily, Wendy, Carla and Lyon staring down at him; they all had looks of relief on their faces, including Lyon, but he guessed Lyon was only worried for Gray’s sake.

“NATSU!” Happy cried out tearfully, “Are you alright?!”

The dragon slayer nodded his head in response and his eyes immediately landed on the ice mage beside him,

“We have to go back to where it all began.”

Lyon’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion,

“What?”

“Gray said we have to go to back to the place where it all began.” Natsu reiterated.

If it was possible the white haired ice mage’s eyebrows furrowed even further and he was gnawing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. While Natsu was waiting impatiently for Lyon to figure it out, someone placed their hand on his shoulder. The pink haired teen turned and found himself looking into the eyes of Lucy.

“Natsu…” She ran her hand through her blonde hair, “What do you mean by ‘Gray said’?”

“Exactly that.” Natsu huffed, “Gray told me to tell Lyon that message clearly under the impression that the idiot would know what he was talking about.”

“But how did he do that?” Erza rephrased.

“Through a link.” Gajeel spoke up with a smirk, “Am I right?”

Natsu nodded, but scowled at the perverted iron dragon slayer,

“But I’m surprised we even had one considering we haven’t completed the mating ritual.”

“Mating ritual?” Lucy’s voice squeaked.

“The mating ritual doesn’t matter,” Makarov interrupted, “What does matter is any other information that Natsu got from Gray considering his whereabouts and what is happening to him.”

“Well that’s a long story Gramps,” Natsu sighed, “First off; Shadowsky wants to use the Core of Magic to destroy the Magic Council. Secondly, Gray has no intention of helping the bastard with his plan, so Shadowsky will most likely do something to ensure that he does and finally, the reason why Shadowsky and Yakumo knew so much about Gray’s past is because Shadowsky is Gray’s father.”

Silence and disbelief engulfed the guild hall; if they weren’t in deep shit before, they were now. Makarov’s fists clenched at his sides and his anger was rolling off of him in waves; most of the guild members were shaking in their seats from the intense pressure.

“I’m going to the Magic Council to inform them of these new developments.” Makarov growled, “I’m doing this as my duty to the council, so I advise you to get Gray out of Shadowsky’s clutches as soon as possible. If the council were to see Gray as a threat, there would be nothing to stop them from executing him.”

“WHAT?!” Natsu roared along with the angry grumblings of the guild and Lyon, “They can’t do that! Gray didn’t ask for this damn power; all it has done has made him suffer! I’m not going to let anyone kill him even if it’s the fucking Magic Council! They can kiss my ass for all I care!”

“AYE!” The guild hall yelled in unison.

Makarov had to force his smile from his face so that the others didn’t see it; his children were the best mages in Fiore, both physically and emotionally,

“Then I suggest you work fast.”

Makarov left the guild hall and started to head towards the train station so he could go to the Magic Council; he of course had faster means of getting there, but he trusted his mages to save Gray before anything terrible happened. The guild hall remained tense when the guild master left; now finding the ice mage was even more dire. Natsu got to his feet and approached Lyon tensely,

“Did you figure out his message yet?”

“No flame bastard I…” Lyon cut himself off and then face palmed, “God I’m such an idiot.”

“What?!” The dragon slayer growled, “You know where he is?”

“It was right in front of my face and I didn’t even realize it…”

“SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!” The guild roared impatiently.

“C’mon, you guys should even be able to figure it out; you’ve all known Gray for at least ten years.” Lyon rubbed the back of his neck, “Think about it, what was the place where it all began for him?”

“Deliora…” Erza’s face paled, “Right after the attack he met you and Ur and became an ice mage.”

Now it was Natsu’s turn to face palm,

“Now I feel like an idiot; thanks a lot Lyon.”

“I don’t…” Lucy began only to be interrupted by both Natsu and Lyon.

“He’s at his old village in the North.”

FTFTFTFTFT

The snow whipped around the group of mages horrendously; the cold was beginning to seep uncomfortably into their bones practically freezing their joints. The only people not overly affected were Natsu and of course Lyon, who was adapted to the environment due to his training with Ur. Luckily, Lucy was smart enough to actually bundle up this time, the last thing they needed was to hear her complaining; things were already tense enough as it was. Deciding who was going on the rescue mission wasn’t too hard; the only problem was convincing the guild hall that it wasn’t a good idea for the whole guild to go. They didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to the abandoned area and risk the Magic Council figuring out Shadowsky’s intentions too soon. After convincing the guild hall of this it was decided that Natsu, Lyon, Erza, Gajeel, Lucy and Wendy would go. Natsu and Lyon were obvious choices as was Erza because of their bonds with Gray, Wendy went because she could heal Gray if he was injured and the combination of Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy as dragon slayers added more power to their side. Lucy came along because her celestial spirits, especially Loke, would come in handy during the battle and she was Gray’s friend too and refused to leave him.

“Natsu,” Gajeel asked as he wrapped his arms tighter around himself, “Can you smell him yet?”

The pink haired dragon slayer shook his head negatively and sighed,

“I’m having difficulty with this storm blowing around us; as of right now I can smell Gray EVERYWHERE.”

“You mean Gray is making it snow like this?” Wendy’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

“Yup, this definitely has Fullbuster written all over it.” Lyon chuckled, “It always amazed me how he was able to do this.”

“But Natsu,” Lucy said fearfully, “Won’t this drain Gray of his magical energy?”

“Well most of this isn’t actually him,” Lyon answered instead, “Most of this is part of the weather that naturally occurs in this part of the country; it’s just reacting to Gray’s strong elemental presence. It’s not actually his magical power; it’s more or less a residue of it.”

“Residue…” Natsu whispered thoughtfully.

He subconsciously stopped walking and stared at the snow beneath his feet. He thought back to the meeting with Gray in the inner world and his head snapped up so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. He noticed that he was farther from the group than before and he ran up to Lyon and forced him to stop walking. The others also stopped walking to see what was going on; Lyon seemed just as confused as the rest of them.

“How close are we to the village ruins?” The dragon slayer demanded.

“A couple miles or so, why?” The white haired mage raised a delicate eyebrow.

“When Gray talked to me earlier he said that he used the Core before he passed out. He said that we would probably be able to feel the residual energy left behind from its use.” He explained.

“Three of the elements in the core are wind, water and ice,” Erza whispered in understanding, “That’s why you sense him everywhere; it’s the residue of the elemental energy.”

“Exactly,” He nodded, “Which means he has to be close.”

“If he used the Core that means the other elemental energies will appear the closer we get to the hideout.” Gajeel smirked, “The reason why we can feel him all the way out here is because this part of the country is winter’s domain, so the ice, wind and water energies would be mixed all over.”

“Does anyone remember the other elements involved in the Core?” Wendy bit her lip nervously.

Lucy started to list the elements on her fingers,

“I believe they were Earth, Fire, Ice, Wind, Water, Metal and Lightning.”

Natsu distanced himself away from the group and sniffed the air surrounding him, searching for any signs of the elements. The dragon slayer smirked when the scent of smoke wafted towards his nostrils. His stomach rolled in anticipation as if waiting for flames to enter it soon,

“Guys, this way!”

He took off towards the smell of smoke with the others close on his heels. The air around them was starting to warm slightly and it just urged them on. Soon the snow began to disappear and grass along with blooming lilies flourished under their feet. Unconsciously, Natsu picked up his speed when an open cave came into view. Burn marks from lightning strikes decorated the rock and different types of precious metals laid out on the ground beckoningly. The group was about to run into the cave when an agonized scream tore through the air nearly ripping their souls in half.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	4. Love Me Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Final Chapter for this Part! ~  
> Stay tuned for more drama!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mashima owns FT and my feelings!

“No…” Lucy covered her mouth with her hands, “We can’t be too late… can we?”

A low growl erupted from the back of Natsu’s throat causing the poor girl to nearly jump out of her skin. The mages watched the dragon slayer warily hoping that he wouldn’t snap and go on a rampage like he almost did at the guild. He turned towards the small blonde and she could see desperation, worry and fear in his onyx eyes. Without uttering a word he took off into the cave with Lyon and Gajeel close behind him. Erza turned to Lucy and Wendy before entering the cave herself; tears were lingering in the corner of her eyes, but they refused to fall.

“You girls stay out here for now.” She instructed, “We’ll send a signal if your help is needed.”

“But Erza-san,” Wendy whispered, “Lucy-chan and I should come in too; if Gray-kun needs serious medical attention, I need to be in there.”

“No, Wendy we should stay out here.” Lucy agreed with Erza.

“Why?”

Erza sighed and placed a firm hand on top of Wendy’s head,

“The stability of the cave is uncertain and with myself, a pissed off fire dragon slayer mate, an equally pissed off older brother and an iron dragon slayer looking for a fight there’s already a chance that the cave could collapse from the magic power. Not to mention the core of all elemental magic is in there with a psychotic shadow mage; it’s going to be a huge risk. That’s why you and Lucy have to be out here in case anything happens.”

Wendy nodded sadly in understanding,

“Okay Erza-san, we’ll stay put.”

“Good,” Erza smiled reassuringly, “Lucy can you summon Loke so he can come along too? If Gray is seriously injured, he can either bring him out here or fight in Natsu’s place.”

“Ah yeah, sure thing Erza.” Lucy took out Loke’s key, “Gate of the Lion, Leo!”

In a flash of brilliant golden light Loke appeared by Lucy’s side; like usual, he was in a pressed suit with a red tie and wore his signature blue glasses. He turned to Lucy and bowed respectively,

“What can I do for you beautiful?”

Just then another agonizing scream came from inside the cave causing all them to freeze. Loke’s smile dropped immediately only to be replaced by an angry scowl,

“That sounded like Gray.”

Erza nodded stiffly,

“We need to get him out of there now Loke, and we need your help to do it.”

“No problem,” Loke pushed up his glasses darkly, “We are nakama after all and no one hurts my nakama.”

Without another word, both Erza and Loke ran into the cave. Wendy shifted from foot to foot beside Lucy; tears slowly ran down her face. Lucy immediately pulled the young mage into a tight hug and Wendy buried her face into the celestial mage’s stomach,

“Lucy-chan…” She  sobbed.

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t Gray-kun be happy?” Wendy squeezed Lucy tighter, “I know everyone in Fairy Tail has their own dark past, but why is it that every time Gray-kun overcomes his, it just comes back to hurt him ten times as much?”

“I can’t answer that,” A tear slid down Lucy’s cheek, “All I know is that out of all of us, Gray deserves as much happiness as he can get.”

FTFTFTFTFT

Gray groaned as he tried to push himself back onto his feet; his throat was raw from the screams that Shadowsky had forced out of his vocal cords and blood dripped in rivulets down his pale face and back. Deep, thick gauges littered his once scar free back and they stung so much that they almost prevented him from standing up straight while the right side of his face burned from where Shadowsky attacked his face with a knife. The ice mage swallowed back the pain and managed to stand tall; his remaining deep blue eye burning a hole into Shadowsky as he did so.

“Do as I say Gray Fullbuster,” Shadowsky spat, “Use the Core now.”

“Go to hell you bastard.” Gray growled, “I’m not going to do anything you say; you lost that right eleven years ago.”

Shadowsky smirked and his deep blue eyes flashed darkly,

“I suggest you do what I say boy; you have no idea what my magic truly entails and I would hate to use it.”

“Fuck. You.”

The smirk that was on his face disappeared immediately,

“Alright, if you won’t use the Core, then I’ll have to force you.”

A thick dark aura began to circulate in Gray’s prison; he could barely supress the shivers that were travelling down his spine. He tried to search for Shadowsky, but he noticed that the man’s figure was strangely distorted and seemed to be expanding and stretching in grotesque ways. The darkness that was moving around Shadowsky was forebodingly familiar and it made Gray’s air catch in his throat. He backed up until his back was pressed against the farthest rock wall; he was trapped. Shadowsky’s laugh echoed throughout the cell, but it was guttural and inhuman; it was almost demonic.

“You see Gray,” Shadowsky’s voice rasped, “When my illusion magic and shadow magic mix together I am able to do something like takeover magic. The difference between my magic and takeover magic is that my magic allows me to turn into demons; to be more specific, it allows me to turn into demons from my opponent’s past.”

The dark aura that swallowed the prison started to dissipate dramatically and what Gray saw caused his legs to give out from under him. His breathing started to come out in strangled gasps and his heart was beating in his throat. Standing before him was none other than his worst nightmare come true; the same blue skin, the same dark mane and obsidian eyes; the same crushing aura that was able to demolish villages in a single night.

“N-No…” Gray’s voice broke, “That’s impossible… D-Deliora…”

Shadowsky’s laughter exploded throughout the room as Gray slowly tried to push himself to his feet,

“How do you like my magic Gray? I look just like him and I can do everything he could do too. If you don’t use the Core to defeat the Magic Council, I will go to Magnolia Town and burn it to the ground.”

“No!” Gray shouted, “I won’t let you! You said that I had no idea what your magic can do, but guess what? I can say the same for you! You have no idea what my magic can do! I won’t let you hurt innocents; it’s bad enough you hurt me, it’s even worse that you hurt Natsu, but now you’re going to pay for your sins.”

Shadowsky laughed again and raised his palm and pointed it at Gray,

“Say good bye.”

A beam of green light shot out of Shadowsky’s hand and towards the ice mage. Due to his sluggish movements and new blindness Gray dove out of the way at the last second and jumped back to his feet; his back protesting as he did so. He brought his hands together and an ice make symbol appeared beneath his feet. He tapped into the Core he was forced to bear and drew on the ice element to strengthen his attack,

“Ice Make: Supreme Ice Cannon!”

An ice cannon, larger than he has ever used before appeared out of this air. He clutched the weapon tightly, pressed the trigger and fired. The explosive ball of ice was almost the size of Shadowsky’s new form and it was powerful enough to push him into the other wall. When the dust cleared, Shadowsky was back on his feet, but blood was dripping from a wound in his shoulder.

“You may look like Deliora, but you’ll never be as strong as him!”

Before Gray even finished, Shadowsky was standing in front of him, the palm of his hand just inches away from his stomach. As Gray prepared to make an ice wall to separate them, Shadowsky fired; when it hit, it felt like his insides were melting. The force caused Gray to fly back into the wall and cough up blood. His body fell to the floor with an audible thud and his breaths came out in pained gasps.

“What were you saying to me you cocky little whore?!”

The ice mage struggled to push himself to his feet and he quickly used his magic to seal the wound on his stomach. The raven haired teen could barely see straight, but he knew he had to keep fighting; Natsu was coming for him and he was not going to die before he saw him. Gray quickly brought his palms together,

“Ice Make: Floor!”

Before Shadowsky could predict what was happening Gray swiped at his legs and caused him to lose his balance and fall. As Shadowsky fell, Gray brought his hands together again for another attack,

“Ice Make: Ice Blade Seven Slice Dance!”

Long, thick shards of ice appeared on his arms and he dashed towards Shadowsky as he was falling and attacked mercilessly. When Shadowsky hit the ground he was back in his human form and completely unconscious. Gray almost fell to his knees in exhaustion, but he knew that he had to get moving. The raven haired teen moved himself away from the wall and started to make his way toward the escape. He had to get out of there and he knew it; the bastard wouldn’t stay down for long. He ran out of the prison and down the rocky corridor; he could feel the cold wind heading towards him as he ran and it only prompted him to move faster.

As he was running, the sound of more running footsteps echoed around him. Gray couldn’t tell if they were coming from in front of him or behind him. Despite his protesting muscles, the ice mage pushed himself to run faster. His vision was blurry from exhaustion and he wanted nothing more than to let the darkness take him; but he knew that if Shadowsky caught him again, there was no way in hell that he was getting out alive. Slowly his mind started to drift off, but he was brought back to focus when he ran into something; that something was extremely warm. Chancing it, Gray raised his head and found himself looking into flabbergasted onyx eyes and dishevelled pink hair.

“N-Natsu?” Gray’s voice quivered and tears started to gather in the corner of his eyes.

He was answered by arms wrapping tightly around him and pulling him to a warm chest. A loud, consistent heartbeat bounced against Gray’s chest and warm breath brushed against his neck. He could feel his dragon slayer’s tears falling onto his skin like a cleansing rain.

FTFTFTFTFT

Natsu ran down the corridor as if the devil himself was on his heels; well, Lyon was behind him, so it wasn’t that hard to imagine. His heart was pounding in his chest as he ran to his mate; hoping that he wouldn’t be too late. The cave seemed to run on forever; it was as if no matter how fast or how far they were running they were still in the same place. The dragon slayer wanted to punch something, no, he wanted to kill something. If Gray knew about these thoughts, Natsu would most likely be getting a lecture about how he could take care of himself and that he made the decision on his own, so there was no point in blaming himself. The problem was, Natsu was blaming himself and no one was going to make him think otherwise. If he was stronger, Gray wouldn’t keep getting hurt and he wouldn’t have to lose anyone else ever again. All Natsu wanted was for Gray to be happy, even if it meant that Natsu had to give him to someone else who was strong enough to protect him. Natsu would never say it, but he actually thought that Lyon was better for his ice mage; after all, he understood Gray in ways Natsu himself did not.

As if sensing his thoughts, Lyon glanced at the dragon slayer from the corner of his eye and regarded the pink haired teen sadly,

“You’re wrong you know.”

“What are you babbling on about now ice bastard?” Natsu growled.

“I’m not as good for Gray as you think I am.” Lyon answered simply.

“Tch…” Natsu avoided eye contact, “What makes you think that?”

“I know it’s not like me to say this to you dumbass, but you’re exactly what Gray needs. You stand by his side and make him stronger so that he is able to stand on his own; that’s something I could never do. You’re the one that saved him on Galuna Island Natsu, not me; I’m the one who almost got him killed in the first place.”

Natsu opened his mouth to respond when another scream erupted through the cavern. The group of boys picked up their speed as they tried to get closer to Gray, but once again, Natsu felt like he wasn’t getting anywhere.

“Something’s not right!” Gajeel shouted from the back of the group.

“You sense it too?” Natsu called back and stopped running causing Lyon to run into him.

“Yeah,” The raven haired dragon slayer scowled, “It’s like we’re running on a treadmill; running, but not actually getting anywhere.”

“I thought that was the case…” A familiar voice trailed off behind them.

The boys turned and saw Erza and Loke walking towards them with extreme anger evident on their faces. The two dragon slayers and the ice mage shuddered from the murderous aura that seemed to roll off her skin. She was dressed in her strongest and most efficient armour; her hair was pulled back into a fiery red high ponytail and her red pants flared away from her ankles and were adorned with golden flames along with her two samurai swords held tightly in her hands. Clearly she meant business; no one would want to be Shadowsky right now. Especially with a murderous Titania, a blood seeking Salamander, a violent tempered ice mage, a sadistic iron dragon slayer and a pissed off celestial spirit after his head; this pretty much had fun written all over it.

“Then how the hell do we get off it?!” Natsu roared.

“My guess is we have to incapacitate the illusionist mage who cast the spell.” Loke said gravely, “And that mage was probably Shadowsky himself.”

“Which means we’re shit out of luck.” Gajeel punched a wall angrily.

“UGH!” Lyon and Natsu roared simultaneously.

Almost as soon as the sound left their mouths black magic circles appeared on the walls. The mages got into their defensive stances prepared for the assault that was going to come only to watch as the magic symbols shattered. The sound of an explosion echoed farther ahead that caused all the mages to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“What the hell just happened?” Gajeel growled.

“I dunno,” Natsu started walking again, “But I bet it had something to do with Gray; did anyone else feel the air pressure drop?”

“Now that you mention it, it does feel a little colder.” Lyon muttered, “And coming from me, that says something.”

Without another word the group took off running again, hoping this time they were actually getting somewhere. Natsu sniffed the air around him as he ran and a smile suddenly broke out across his stoic face as he picked up speed. As he was about to turn a corner, a cold body collided head on with his own immediately stopping him. The dragon slayer looked down and his heart caught in his throat. A familiar raven haired teen was standing in front of him with a look of relief and exhaustion on his soft features. One deep blue eye was staring up at him in almost complete disbelief while the other was sealed shut and caked in blood preventing him from opening it; tear prickled at the corners of the dragon slayer’s eyes as he realized that the bastard damaged one of Gray’s beautiful eyes.

“N-Natsu?” The boy’s voice quivered.

Natsu immediately wrapped his arms around the small teen and held him close to his chest. The comforting chill that Gray’s body brought to his own heat was enough to entice the tears to fall down his cheeks and splash on the younger teen’s body.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered into the raven hair under his nose, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay Natsu,” Gray whispered back soothingly, “You have nothing to apologize for; none of this is your fault do you understand me?”

“But…”

“If you don’t stop apologizing flame bastard, I swear I’m going to punch you.” Gray ordered teasingly.

A small chuckle escaped Natsu’s lips,

“You can always try ice block.”

Natsu released Gray from his embrace so he could go give Lyon a hug only for him to freeze. The smell of fresh blood entered his nostrils and he didn’t like the scent that was coming off it. The dragon slayer glanced down at his forearms and stomach; he noticed that they were lathered in fresh blood and the red dripped off his bronze forearms like a leaky faucet. At that moment, Gray’s legs gave out from under him and Natsu wrapped his arms protectively around his waist to keep him steady.

“Lyon!” Natsu roared, “Help!”

The whole team stood in shock for a moment before Lyon sprang into action and was immediately at the lovers’ side.

“Check his back first,” Natsu’s voice cracked, “Then we have to check his front.”

Lyon moved around the pair so he could get a look at Gray’s back; as soon as he got in position his already naturally pale face paled even more so that he was a ghostly white. As if on automatic the white haired ice mage brought his hands up and covered Gray’s entire backside in a coat of ice. Gray seemed to flinch at the unexpected coldness, but he it didn’t take long for his taut muscles to relax from the familiarity.

“Lay him on his back carefully so I can look at his front.” Lyon instructed tersely.

Natsu nodded and for once did what he was told; he laid his ice mage gently on his back and bile immediately came up his throat. His love’s stomach was charred slightly and blood was gushing out from the wound; it was a miracle that Gray was alive and conscious, let alone even moving.

“Shit…” Gajeel muttered from somewhere behind them.

“I’m going to go tell Wendy and Lucy to prepare for our arrival.” Loke whispered, loathing evident in his voice.

“Good idea.” Erza said faintly, “He’ll need Wendy’s help asap.”

Loke disappeared in a flash of golden light as Lyon shakily applied more ice to the raven’s stomach as he tried to erase the image that he just saw. The white haired teen stared up at Natsu as he finished up the teen’s stomach,

“Do you want me to put some ice over his eye too?”

Natsu shook his head negatively,

“That blood is dry; the wound was inflicted before these ones.”

Natsu bent down to pick Gray up, but hesitated. He turned to Lyon and placed a hand on his shoulder,

“You should carry him.”

“Natsu…”

“I might melt the ice again; I can’t let that happen.”

Lyon was about to argue with him and say that the ice melted because Gray was losing consciousness, but he knew that the dragon slayer wouldn’t listen to him anyway; he was too busy tearing himself apart for what happened. He simply nodded and picked up the younger teen and hugged him to his chest as the group started running to the exit. Slowly, Gray’s hazy eye started to open and it connected with Lyon’s relieved onyx one.

“How are you doing?” He asked softly.

“’M okay,” Gray whispered exhaustedly, “Where’d Natsu go?”

Lyon sighed sadly, but he knew that Gray loved Natsu and that Natsu loved Gray. He also knew that those feelings were never going to change.

“He’s running up ahead; he didn’t want to risk my awesome ice patching job.”

Gray snorted,

“It could be that or he could just be an idiot who is going to be punched in the face later.”

“Yeah that too.” Lyon laughed.

The boys walked in companionable silence for a while before Lyon cleared his throat,

“I never did get around to thanking you.”

“Thanking me?” Gray raised an eyebrow, “For what?”

“Saving me on Galuna,” Lyon explained, “I was a real frigid bastard back then and you taught me that I could rely on others instead of chasing after a pointless goal; you loved me even though all I wanted to do was kill you.”

“Of course I love you Lyon,” Gray laughed while playfully punching Lyon on the collarbone, “You are my brother after all.”

“Yeah,” Lyon laughed along, “I guess I am; I love you too Gray.”

And that’s when the cave exploded with a monstrous roar.

Luckily, the group of teens had made it out of the cave before it collapsed behind them. Gray stared at the rubble in fear as the form of Deliora once again towered over him. His body started to shake against Lyon’s and he could feel his older brother’s body doing the same.

“H-How is this possible?!” Natsu shouted as he ran to Lyon and Gray’s side, “I-I killed him… didn’t I?”

“Well if you want to get technical, Ur killed him; you just kind of finalized it.” Lyon corrected him, “But essentially, Deliora should not be here.”

“It’s not actually Deliora,” Gray whispered, “That is Shadowsky.”

“Oh my god…” Lucy whispered from somewhere behind him.

“He’s not as strong as the original though,” Gray explained, “He said it was a form of takeover magic; you know like the Strauss’.”

“Well this cannot be good.” Lucy stated the obvious.

“Lyon, put me down.” Gray whispered, “I can fight.”

Erza, Gajeel, Loke, Lucy, Wendy and Lyon all stared at him in complete disbelief; Natsu on the other hand completely expected something like this to happen. The pink haired teen glanced at the raven haired teen in Lyon’s arms and saw the determination shining in them; he sighed in defeat.

“Do as he says.” Natsu whispered.

“WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!”

“Hey, it’s better knowing he’s fighting than it is not knowing and having him just burst into the fight and getting hurt.”

“I am sitting right here you know.” Gray grumbled.

“I see your point,” Lyon mumbled, “But I see your point.”

“Still sitting here…”

Shadowsky let out a ferocious roar and started to make his way towards the group of mages. Gray felt himself being placed on the ground and luckily his legs were able to hold his weight. A dark aura rolled off Shadowsky and Gray’s heart nearly stopped; this couldn’t be good.

“Uh, guys…”

“Yeah?”

“Uh, you remember when Elfman first tried performing a full body takeover?”

Erza nodded sadly,

“He lost control and ‘killed’ Lisanna; why do you ask?”

“Well let’s just say that Shadowsky isn’t home right now and we might have to leave a message.”

As if to emphasize his point a beam of magic shot out of Shadowsky’s mouth and there was no aim in it whatsoever. All the mages paled as they dodged the beam as it shot across the barren land. The beam of magic hit some of the handmade graves that Gray constructed and demolished them. Gray could feel the rage building up inside him; how dare that bastard destroy the markers of his loved ones! The calm weather that was around him began to whip into a frenzy and the weather plummeted drastically.

“Gray,” Natsu whispered in his ear, “You need to calm down.”

“I. Am. Calm.” He growled darkly, “If I wasn’t I probably would’ve used Iced Shell; however, with weather like this, the Demon won’t be able to see us or our attacks.”

“How long will you be able to keep this up Gray-kun?” Wendy asked nervously.

“As long as I have to.”

“Gray…”

“Natsu, please trust me.” Gray whispered, “I can’t fight physically due to my injuries and due to the fact that I’m not used to my blind side I might end up attacking one of you guys instead.”

The dragon slayer nodded his head hesitantly and pressed his warm lips against Gray’s forehead,

“Okay, we’ll do as you ask. However, if you don’t warm up the temperature at least a little most of our fighters won’t be able to move.”

Gray nodded stiffly and the temperature warmed slightly,

“This temperature work for everyone?”

All of the mages nodded before running into battle.

FTFTFT **TWO WEEKS LATER** FTFTFT

Gray sat on his bed, his back facing away from the door so no one would be able to see the tears that were running down his cheeks. He could hear footsteps approaching him, but he didn’t acknowledge them in anyway or form. He refused to acknowledge the world that he lived him; for what was a world that only brought him pain and suffering. What was a life that only ever brought him loneliness and sadness; everyone who had ever dared to love him were all snatched away from him in a blink of an eye. First his mother, then Ur and now _him_ ; maybe he should’ve done what he planned to do from the start. Maybe he should’ve kept himself secluded and not let anyone else in; if he didn’t stay with Ur, then she would be alive and if he didn’t let him into his heart then maybe he would be alive too.

Muscled arms wrapped around his waist gently and pulled him back carefully. Gray was aware of the heartbeat beating against his back, but it was doing nothing to sooth the pain. What if simply touching his body brought on a curse; it sure seemed that way and it hurt all the more. The ice mage didn’t want to be alone, that was his worst fear, but with the way his life was going now maybe it’s for the best.

“It wasn’t your fault…”

But it was… no matter what anyone said, it was his fault that another powerful mage was dead.

“Maybe everyone would be better off if I was dead.” He whispered brokenly.

The arms around his waist squeezed even tighter and the heart beat banging against his bandaged back beat even faster,

“Don’t ever say that…”

“But it’s true!” Gray cried, a tears falling rapidly down his cheeks, “So many more people would be alive if I wasn’t! If Deliora had only killed me that day all those years ago, then so many others would be able to experience lives that they never had!”

“You don’t know that…”

Gray whipped around and banged his fists on the unwelcome person’s chest. His tears continuing to fall down his face; he thought he ran out of tears years ago, but of course he was wrong.

“I do!” He sobbed, “I close my eyes and imagine the lives they would have if I never entered their lives. If they never loved me then they would be alive and helping other people who deserve it! It’s not fair!”

Calloused hands wrapped tightly around his wrists and yanked him towards the chest that was in front of him. Sobs continued to wrack his body as his very soul quaked in his body; the calloused hands ran their way through Gray’s raven hair rhythmically slowly calming the teen down.

“You’re right Gray,” The voice above him cracked, “It’s not fair; you deserve happiness just as much as the rest of us and that is why everyone will do anything to keep you safe. You deserve to live your life without looking over your shoulder and worrying that your past will come back and destroy everything you love. Your friends, no, your family want you to be happy Gray because the love that you so rarely give to others is something that they cherish; something that I cherish.”

Gray sat silently and let the other rock him back and forth soothingly. If he wanted to Gray could’ve easily fallen back to sleep, but he was worried that if he closed his eyes he would see him die all over again.

“Gray,” the other whispered soothingly into his hair, “Are you going to come or are you going to stay?”

More tears sprung to the corners of his eyes as he nodded his head slowly. The other teen helped Gray to his feet and helped the emotionally broken teen get changed into his white dress shirt, black tie and black jacket. Gray’s lifeless deep blue eye stared up at the teen as if asking him to just end his life, but of course the other would have none of it. The taller teen wrapped his arm around Gray’s shoulders and led him out of the apartment. The travel to their destination was slow and solemn as sobs started to shake Gray’s frail body like an earthquake. When the two teens finally arrived at the grave yard it was already packed with people. Guilds from around the area were gathered around the newly erected tombstone and they watched as Gray slowly made his way towards it. Gray knelt down in front of the tombstone and slowly traced his fingers around the engraved Guild symbol that rested at the top of the stone.

“You were a strong mage,” Gray whispered, “Growing up I would watch you and wish that I was as talented as you were. For the longest time you were my goal because I knew that I would be strong enough if I was able to beat you in a fight. You helped me in so many ways, but you broke me in many ways too. You were always by my side during those months of darkness and you were my ray of light for that brief time before darkness shrouded me once more.”

Sobs and sniffles could be heard from behind him as he spoke his words. All he wanted to do was disappear or turn back time so that this didn’t happen. He felt the arms around his shoulders tighten and he looked up into the onyx eyes that stared down at him; they were so much like his.

“You were determined, straight forward and you did anything in your power to achieve your goals and dreams; for that I have always admired you.” Gray added, “Even if you started off on the wrong foot with someone, you still managed to protect them as if they were your own nakama.”

Gray stopped tracing the guild insignia on the tombstone and ran his hand over his face to dry his tears. His hand brushed against the new scar that ran down his right eye and forced back a shiver. He stared at the tombstone and slowly returned the embrace of the person who was supporting him.

“Most of all, you were able to grant me even a small amount of happiness by loving me…” Gray’s voice broke, “Even if I already gave my love to someone else and without you Lyon, that person wouldn’t be beside me today so I am grateful and my love and admiration for you will never change brother… you can always count on having place in my heart.”

Gray pushed himself to his feet, Natsu’s warm body pressed tightly against him; trying to give him as much comfort as he possibly could. Gray buried his head into the crook of Natsu’s neck and closed his eyes before slowly raising his hand into that of the Fairy Tail symbol of nakamaship.

“Lyon Bastia,” He raised his voice clearly, “Although you are a proud and strong member of Lamia Scale… you will forever be an honorary member of Fairy Tail.”

Murmurs of agreement, pride and the sound of more tears could be heard all around him even as the sky’s tears began to fall. Behind his closed eyelids Gray remembered the last moments of Lyon’s life, no doubt along with the others who were there that fateful day…

_Gray was reduced to sitting on his knees because of the taxing energy that the core was taking on him in order to keep the blizzard going. Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, Lyon and even Erza had been knocked out cold by the reincarnation of Deliora. Gray felt as if he was eight years old; watching as Deliora killed the ones he loved. Natsu was shaking and could barely keep himself standing. Gray noticed as Natsu’s legs were about to give out from under him and push himself up so he could catch Natsu before falling on the ground._

_“N-Natsu,” Gray whispered exhaustedly, “Are you alright?”_

_“Yeah,” Natsu coughed, “I’m fine.”_

_What used to be Shadowsky turned towards them and prepared to fire another beam of magic at them; and with the condition they were in, they wouldn’t be able to avoid it. Natsu pushed Gray behind him and shielded Gray with his body._

_“N-Natsu what are you doing?!” Gray cried._

_“You need to live Gray…”_

_“I-I can’t live without you!” Gray pleaded, “I love you too much Natsu! Please don’t do it… don’t leave me!”_

_“You heard him flame brain don’t leave him…”_

_“L-Lyon…”_

_“Did you hear what I said Natsu Dragneel!” Lyon demanded as he crossed his arms in that fateful stance, “Don’t you dare leave him alone!”_

_“NO!” An agonized scream tore from Gray’s throat, “NO! Lyon you can’t do this!”_

_“I’m so sorry Gray,” Lyon told him, “For all the pain I put you through, just know that I always loved you; don’t ever forget that.”_

_The magical energy whipping around Lyon expanded and electrical currents surged through the area._

_“Natsu…” Lyon whispered, “Keep my little brother safe.”_

_“NO!” Gray shouted again as he tried to dive for Lyon._

_Natsu wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around Gray’s waist as he continued to struggle. The dragon slayer whispered pain-filled apologies into his ear, but the ice mage couldn’t register them; all he could register was that he was going to lose another person he loved. If it wasn’t Natsu, it was Lyon; if it wasn’t Lyon it was going to be Natsu… Gray was going to be screwed either way._

_“ICED SHELL!”_

_The snow covered remains of Isvan was covered in a blinding light as Lyon’s body was consumed by the forbidden spell of Iced Shell. Iced Shell has now consumed to lives that were important to Gray and once again he was the sole cause of it. When the light cleared Shadowsky-Deliora was shrouded in thick impenetrable ice; ice that was none other than his older brother._

_“LYON!”_

Gray opened his eyes slowly and stared at the grave before him. By the silence he could tell that only people left were Lyon’s closest friends. Gray could sense Sherry, Yuka, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Lucy, Loke, Juvia and of course Natsu who was still planted firmly at his side. He heard the footsteps of the others retreating behind him and he felt Natsu begin to pull away from him. Gray latched onto Natsu’s suit jacket to prevent him from leaving.

“You promised him you wouldn’t leave me.”

Natsu wrapped his arms around Gray’s waist and pulled him against his chest,

“And I won’t leave you until the day that you want me to leave your side.”

Gray turned so his face was buried in Natsu’s chest and the dragon slayer started to run his hand through the raven’s rain soaked hair.

“Even if loving me leads you to your death, you won’t leave me?”

Natsu gripped the ice mage’s chin and tilted his head up so that they were looking each other in the eyes. The dragon slayer softly wiped the tears off his ice mage’s cheeks and pressed his forehead on the others. He stared into Gray’s deep blue and pale blue eyes before placing his lips on the tip of Gray’s nose and then chastely kissing the shell pink lips.

“I will continue to love you through life, death, afterlife and beyond,” Natsu whispered, “The only reason loving you would lead me to my death would be if I was following you after yours.”

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! ~ Now it's time for the big kahuna!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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